Knife

Knife safety

Blood circle

The blood circle, also known as a safety circle, is a term used by Rangers to describe the area within the radius of the arm and blade length combined, when using a knife or axe. This area can be envisioned as a sphere with a person and a sharp instrument at its center. Presumably, anyone within this radius is at risk of being wounded by an accidental slip of the blade. Therefore, it is desirable to keep other people outside of the circle at all times.

Delimiting the blood circle

The circle is found by holding the blade of the cutting instrument (never the handle) in the hand used for cutting, and slowly swinging the arm in a 360° arc. The far end of the handle marks the limits of the circle. Any person or thing within this circle is considered to be at risk of injury. While it is never a good idea to enter another person's blood circle, it is customarily the responsibility of the knife-holder to clear the circle, or to move cautiously (after closing their knife) if the circle cannot be cleared.

Choosing a knife

A ranger's choice of knife is an intensely personal matter. But here are some guidelines.

A knife may be either single-edged, or double-edged such as a dagger. We know that in the latter middle ages, double edged knives were used by knights in armor to attack opponents through chinks in their armor. But for most bush-crafting tasks, a single-edged knife is much more practical, and it can be used as well as a dagger in combat generally.

The seax used by warriors during the Viking Age was a stout single-edged knife. It was similar to the Bowie knife known to woodsmen of the old American frontier. We also see Strider carrying a large single-edged knife in the New Line Films trilogy Lord of the Rings. In fact, single edged knives are nearly universal in every world culture that uses steel knives.

A practical Ranger knife should be stout and capable of withstanding much abuse. It should be long enough to be employed for nearly every bush-craft task. For the representation of a Middle-Earth Ranger, the hilt should be made of natural materials, and the knife should appear to have been made using period designs and techniques.